Of all the numbers in the Pew Research Center’s recently released survey of “Mormons in America,” the highest, most overwhelming numbers are these: 98 percent of respondents said they believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and 97 percent say their church is a Christian religion.

This comes on the heels of earlier surveys indicating that 32 percent of non-LDS U.S. adults say the LDS Church is not a Christian religion, and an additional 17 percent are unsure of LDS Christianity. The theological and semantic reasons for this can be complex, but for the 1,019 self-identified Mormons who participated in the Pew survey, their theological position is clear: Mormons believe in Jesus Christ, and they consider themselves to be Christian.

“Certainly in Latter-day Saint theology is this idea that if you understand who you are, you understand that there’s a purpose in life, you understand your connection to God, that certainly has an impact on how you live your life and what you do, but also how you feel about your life and what you are doing,” said Michael Purdy of the LDS Church Public Affairs office.More »

David Letterman knows how to get a laugh.Like most comics, he riffs on the day’s news, deadpans the camera and revels in audacity.”Oh, did you hear about this?” the host of CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman asked his audience recently. “A campaign staffer on the Newt Gingrich campaign was fired because he was making negative comments about Mormons. I thought, now, wait a minute — isn’t Newt in favor of multiple wives?”Laughter rumbled from the audience followed by applause. The polygamy punch line is a familiar one when it comes to poking fun at Mormons — as though Mormons and polygamy are synonymous in mainstream media. Ironically, the practice that’s most linked to Mormons is a practice most Mormons oppose, according to a groundbreaking new study of Mormons in America released Thursday by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life.

According to the study, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unequivocally reject polygamy — only 2 percent said the practice is morally acceptable — evidence of a yawning gap in what Mormons believe and how they are perceived. Mormons’ opinions are overwhelmingly conservative, the study shows, but in many ways, their views are also surprising — especially when it comes to opinions on moral issues, divorce, homosexuality and polygamy. More »

A recent The Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted an in-depth survey of Mormons in the United States. Mormon is a nickname sometimes used to describe members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fourth article in a series that appears in Deseret News is evaluating the results of this survey and providing context for the results.

Immigration is a controversial topic in the United States. The survey asked one question on this topic. They were asked which of two statements most closely matched their view, even if they didn’t completely agree. They were asked whether immigrants strengthen or burden the nation. No distinction was made between legal and illegal immigration, leaving those polled to decide for themselves what the question meant.

In the general U.S. population, 45 percent of Americans feel that immigrants strengthen the country, while 44 percent burden it. 12 percent feel that neither or both are true or they have no opinion on the subject. Mormon views closely mirror these statistics. 45 percent of Mormons also believe immigrants strengthen the nation, although a smaller number, 41 percent, consider them a burden on society. The number of Mormons who accept both or neither or who have no opinion is higher, at 14 percent.

These numbers put them at odds with evangelical Christians, one of the few political areas in which they disagree. Within the white evangelical population, 59 percent believe immigrants are a burden, and 27 percent believe they strengthen the country. Like Mormons, 14 percent answered both, neither, or no opinion.

The statistics for Mormons shows a strong divide based on age, income, and education, as well as on religious commitment. Only 36 percent of highly committed Mormons see immigrants as a burden, while 50 percent of those who are less committed see them as a burden. This largely correlates with economic status. 84 percent of Mormons who are highly committed to their religion are college graduates. (The church strongly encourages More »

SMITHFIELD — After dinner, three baths, four bedtime stories and a half-a-dozen goodnight kisses for 2-year-old twins Brock and Isaac and 6-year-old Ellie, Erin and Brian Thompson finally sink into the couch with weary smiles.

Being parents is just what they always wanted. And they love it.

“Of course we have our crazy moments,” Thompson says, “but for the most part we just try to find the good things in the day and remember that they’re only going to be little for so long.”

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Thompsons believe that maintaining a strong marriage and raising and teaching children are essential keys to happiness and their most important responsibilities on earth.

In fact, 81 percent of Mormons say being a good parent is “one of the most important things in life,” according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center‘s Forum on Religion & Public Life — the first survey of Mormons about Mormons, by a non-LDS research organization.

The survey of more than 1,000 self-identified Latter-day Saints from across the country asked how accepted Mormons feel in American culture, as well as their thoughts on religious practices, political issues and family roles. More »

This website is the creation of one person. It deals with biblical prophecy and the meanings of those prophecies, as well as the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church), and the beliefs of other churches, which have proliferated since Christ’s original church was founded. It is hoped that the historical content on the site will give some background to the current beliefs of various Christian sects and clarify what must be true and what must be false. The ideas and opinions on this site are my own.

The picture is symbolic on three levels:
1. The tree of life, whose fruit is desirable above all other things.
2. The “axis mundi” – the tree at the centre of the world, which links the underworld, our world, and the heavens.
3. Mankind’s family tree, with all the branches of history.

This web site is a sort of hobby. I am interested in Bible prophecies, and want to make a record of what I find. I don’t mean just “foretelling” prophecies (predictions). I also mean “forthtelling” prophecies.

Think about it. God – an infinitely superior being – speaks to man. What could be more important than finding out more?

I find the prophets’ words deeply satisfying. in the words of Alma, I have found that ” the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. ” You know something is right when ” your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. ” (Alma 32:28,34).

I do not claim to be the prophet. I am sure this site contains errors. I know it will be misunderstood. But I hope I can encourage you to listen to the real prophet – currently Gordon B. Hinckley – and thinking a little more deeply about what he says.

Truth stands up to examination.False ideas do not.

To illustrate this in one small way, it may help to compare the restored gospel to the alternatives. Let us stand back and take a critical look at religion in general. Religion in general is confused and contradictory. Mormonsm, in contrast, applies consistently to all nations and all history. The following is from a rationalist web site.

A question from an Anglican priest:”As with the problem of suffering, the difficulty [in there being so many different churches] lies not in the essence of the phenomenon, but in its scale. That there should be diversities of religious understanding is not surprising; that the discrepancies in the accounts of ultimate reality are so great, is very troubling. That perplexity is increased when we consider that it is knowledge of God, with all his power to make himself known, which we are considering. An American Indian said to a missionary, “If this faith is so true why was it not given to our ancestors?'”The conclusion of the rationalist web page:Emo Phillips, John Bunyan, and the unnamed American Indian raise questions which are unanswerable from the viewpoint of Christianity or any other revealed religion. If, as Polkinghorne insists, God “has chosen to make himself known, through gracious disclosure,” why is there such a contrast between the spread of science and the spread of Christianity or any faith? “Originally the product of Western Europe, it [science] has proved eminently exportable, so that one can expect to receive the same answer to a scientific question, whether it is made in London or Tokyo, New York or Delhi. In contrast, while there is some degree of Christian presence in almost every country, in many it is tiny and the other historic religious traditions have shown great stability in the face of more than two centuries of widespread Christian effort.”

Unlike this traditional form of Christianity, the restored gospel is the same throughout the world. It offers personal revelation – with the same message – to all nations. It is also science-friendly. It was preached since the dawn of time – even to the ancestors of the American Indians. It grows successfully wherever it is planted, and continues to grow, just as Daniel foretold. The Church of JesusChrist of Latter-day Saints is not like any other religion. It is the real thing.

In a world where religion is divided, weak, narrow, unfulfilling, and intellectually unsustainable, the gospel of Jesus Christ stands out like a beacon on a hill. It has vision. It has roots. It has depth. Real, endless and eternal, founded on bedrock, depth. It encompasses all truth and can solve all problems. The conventional religious face of the gospel is only the surface. Yet even this surface is astounding. Discovering a little more each day makes me realize how little I know, and how much Jesus knows. I just want more, and I become less and less satisfied by the counterfeits. I confess to becoming a truth addict. The gospel is like a priceless pearl that, if you find it, you sell everything you have to buy it. In the words of Alma, it is delicious to me.

On this site I have spent a lot of space on with history and prophecy – with dates foretold in the Bible. I do this to illustrate an important fact: prophecy stands up to close examination.

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”Amos 3:7

When discussing the future of the church (from their ancient perspective), the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation frequently refer to the period “1260 days” (or its equivalent). They also refer to “1290 days”, “1335 days”, and “2300 days”. What could it mean?

I am not predicting the future

One thing I want to make clear right now. This web site does not predict a date for the second Coming, the End of the World, or any other future event. Occasionally I speculate about what might happen, but it is pure speculation. It is not my job to replace the prophet! The subject of this web site is prophecies that have already been fulfilled.

Similarly, this is not a web site about numerology or Bible codes. I am not convinced that the Bible could have hidden meanings buried in the text. The Bible is plain. For example, “days” only mean “years” when they are plainly flagged as meaning years.

Why does this matter to you?

Why does this matter to you? Because the simplest explanation is that these numbers are very clear prophecies of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This church has the world’s largest missionary force, and has probably contacted you some time in the past. If it hasn’t reached you yet, it is only a matter of time. Most of the prophecies are already fulfilled. The last ones refer to the very end of the world, when it will be too late to listen.

Of course, the strongest Biblical evidence in support of the LDS church is in the doctrines, not the numbers. In other words, prophecy other than the predictive variety. But this web site is just about the numbers. I don’t claim that it proves anything, but I personally find the agreement between prophecy and history to be quite interesting.

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever”Daniel 2:44

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”2 Thessalonians 2:3

“I beheld, and the same horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them… and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time”Daniel 7:21, 25

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people”Revelation 14:6

“And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”1 Corinthians 2:9

As we study Daniel and Revelation, we will see that their message is simple. They reveal things, hence the term “revelation”. They make things simpler. They do not make things more complicated. They do not talk in secret codes, they simply prophecy of the most obvious and widely known events in all sacred history, so that we can all know that God “knows the end from the beginning”.

The ones who make Daniel and Revelation complicated are those false teachers who refuse to accept the fact of an apostasy and restoration – and then distort the other prophecies to fit. Those who try to force the prophetic dates onto obscure events in history are (in my opinion) straining out a gnat (obscure historical detail) and swallowing a camel (their un-Biblical theories).

the bottom line

Daniel and Revelation are all about Jesus Christ, his Saints, and his Church in these Latter Days!

This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. The views expressed by individual users are the responsibility of those users and do not necessarily represent the position of the Church. For the official Church websites, please visit LDS.org or Mormon.org.